In 1986 two IBM scientists received the Nobel Prize in Physics for synthesizing copper-content-multi-oxide ceramic crystals that have vast electric current carrying capability/capacity (JA/cm2) at a significantly increased and therefore easily achievable cooling temperature, for example, at inexpensive liquid nitrogen (LN) coolant ambience. Indeed, higher electrical current density results in proportionally decreased cross-section and consequently cost, size and weight of the advanced current lead and appliances using this lead. Therefore, since 1986, many scientists and engineers have tried to utilize High Temperature Superconductor (HTS) ceramics in HTS electric wire and other macro leads for the electrical energy transmission and application industries.
When electric current passes through regular (copper) wire the act of overcoming the “normal” resistance has two negative effects—one is that power is consumed as it is needed to overcome the resistance and, in doing that, the other is that heat is generated. Superconductivity of metal alloys (at expensive liquid helium temperature) and single ceramic crystals (at inexpensive liquid nitrogen temperature) means that at certain low temperature electricity can pass through wire or another lead meeting only insignificant (near zero) resistance and heat generation.
While homogeneous metal alloy superconductors can be easy scale-up with the same superconductivity, shaped masses of superconductor ceramic nano-crystal pluralities or granular superconductors do not keep superconductivity of the single crystals.
Therefore, to have certain current carrying capability, HTS granular ceramic lead has to be sintered with certain superconductive nano-architecture of the ceramic composite body.
Our practical goal is, using off-the-shelf available HTS ceramic powder particles, to nanofabricate and use an advanced, inexpensive, durable and reliable HTS ceramic composite lead, which achieves much higher electric current carrying capability than current carrying capability of the ordinary copper lead at room temperature J=200-500 A/cm2 (copper and silver are equally the best known and most used leads).
Additionally, material superconductivity should realize three unique phenomena that allow magnetic propulsion (levitation of heavy objects), increased precision of electrical current measurements (much higher sensitivity and precision of electrical and electronic systems and devices), and electrical energy collection and long-term storage using superconductor magnetic energy storage systems.
HTS ceramics are very chemically active, brittle and degrade under environmental influences. These scientific and engineering problems are overcome in our U.S. patented and partly published ceramic-silicone processing (CSP) method and HTS-CSP composite material, which is suitable for cost-effective fabrication of HTS-CSP strands and surface coated and three-dimensional HTS-CSP leads1-6. Meanwhile, these inventions and publications did not consider nano-structure and nano-architecture of the HTS-CSP material and an influence of said nano-structure and nano-architecture on material quality.
Our newly invented specific superconductive nano-architecture of the previously invented1-6 HTS-CSP material and macro leads is very important. Controlling this superconductive nano-architecture, we can control and improve quality of said HTS-CSP material and leads. Some features of the newly invented superconductive nano-architecture of the sintered superconductor composite ceramic material and macro leads from this material were recently published7-9. However, they were published within twelve months before this patent application.